nothin Drag Bingo Is Anything But | New Haven Independent

Drag Bingo Is Anything But

Lucy Gellman Photos

Robin Banks was laughing hard, one set of artfully trimmed nails reaching toward a small ball cage, while another wrapped slowly, sultrily around her second Bloody Mary for the night. A large, gem-red ring glinted from her right hand. The balls shifted and whirred as they came rolling out of the wheel. She grinned, lips glittering Wizard-of-Oz red as they curved upward. She readjusted a balloon shoved down her tank top as she inched toward the mic to speak. 

Okay. G 26,” Banks offered. The room was silent for a moment, a few bingo cards rustling as people bent back numbers that corresponded to that number. Someone ordered a beer near the back. Then, a squeal went up from the front row. 

Biiiiiinnnnngo, motherfuckers!” a woman cried, raising her arms triumphantly. A packed house laughed in return, attendees setting their placards, bingo boards, and paper punch cards down for a moment and hoping for better luck the next time around. She ran onstage to collect her prize, an apron festooned with Dakota trivia. 

Welcome to drag bingo, a new, free monthly installment at Cafe Nine that has not only taken bingo back from the geriatric crowd, but given it a decidedly sassy twist. Started as a collaboration between queens Robin Banks, Dixie Normous, and King Moe Porn(e), along with Cafe Nine bartender Jamie Arobolos, the nights are moving from a Cafe Nine experiment to a monthly celebration of acting funny, fabulous, and fully in control of the bingo board. The reason, Banks and the fouler-mouthed Normous say, has to do entirely with making audiences feel good before the beginning of the work week. 

I loved doing bingo. It was so fun,” said Banks after Sunday night, filled with a few high-stakes rounds and Christmas-themed lip-synced numbers that brought the house down. I felt like it was an interactive comedy show with some prizes. I love to make people laugh and make sure they feel comfortable and included.”

Besides, she added, it was all for fun.”

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